I Want a Cheap SIM for Italy with Cheap Calls
 

I am getting a cheap eBay unlocked phone that will do European GSM frequencies. I will only be using it for things like restaurant reservations and calls to hotels and the airline, so I won't need much time. All the options I have found for getting a SIM before I go seem iether complicated or overly expensive, or both. Can I just walk into an Italian phone shop in Rome and get a fast and cheap SIM for a few euro? Where? At FCO, maybe?

Travel phoning was easier when all I needed was a card for payphones. All gone now, I hear.

Info?

Don't know about FCO, but will you be in or near Stazione Termini? If so,

http://www.grandistazioni.it/cms/v/i...003f16f90aRCRD

I don't know who they were, but we tried about four dealers in Florence. We wanted basic cards for our home phones, but wound up having to buy new phones. We never really knew why. We just knew that Ireland and Paris were more accomodating.

I've heard there is somewhere to purchase in FCO, but the last time I was there it was only available in a secure area.

I've used the TIM store in Termini (they are all over Italy) and paid 10€ which gives you the phone number, set up and 5€ talk time. You can load more time if you think you will need it or pop in another TIM store later on if you are running out of minutes. I think the fees (last Sept.) were .20 to connect and .20 a minute to US. If you used during the first 24 hours of activation, the fees were a bit more. You are required to show your passport so have it with you.

I have bought a couple of cheap phones from the TIM store in Florence (they are all over Europe) and have had the SIM cards reloaded a couple of times. Apparently, the cards "expire" after some number of years; I went back to the same Florence store a couple of years ago and they said that they could not load any more minutes into my card and that I would have to buy another one. Couldn't figure out why, but it was no big deal. I have used the phone just as you suggest -- restaurant reservations, calling a cab, etc. Really helps to have an Italian phone; I use my iPhone to call the states and for texting, but the Italian one is ideal for cheap, local communication.

Oops, make that "all over Italy."

I got this add today. Might work for you.

http://by167w.bay167.mail.live.com/d...264c209ea&fv=1

Sounds like I will have little trouble getting what I want as long as I bring my passport to the store.

For a few days now I've been reading the threads here, as well as comments on other sites. I did read something about SIM cards bought from TIM not being active for 72 hours after purchase, even when bought in conjunction with one of their phones. If that's true, it really isn't a good solution for my purposes -- as I'm sure is true for many other travelers, I need to phone to work within hours (not days) of landing.

If anyone has -recent- experience with this, I'd be much obliged.

I use my own phone in Europe and didn't have to wait 72 hours. If there is any wait, it's an Italian law that would apply to all phone companies. I'm sure TIM wouldn't do something the other companies aren't as laws seemed to be considered just suggestions in Italy.

That is an excellent point! Some post or article I read the other day attributed the waiting requirement to anti-terrorism measures. But I haven't seen that mentioned elsewhere.